'I'm terrified - it was a mistake': British businesswoman faces jail in Dubai after 'having sex on the beach'
A British businesswoman is facing up to six years' jail for a drunken sexual encounter on a public beach in Dubai.
Michelle Palmer, 30, was arrested after being caught with a British holidaymaker following an all-day binge.
Yesterday she was sacked from her job as a publishing manager and begged for clemency at her forthcoming trial for breaching a strict ban on sex outside marriage in the Muslim emirate.
'We have all made silly regretful mistakes in life, of which some pay all too dearly,' she said.
'I am good, I am kind and I am true. The fear I feel each time I close my eyes fills my heart with dread.'
Writing in an online blog in response to a debate about the couple's antics, she said: 'There are a lot of wrong rumours circulating around, which at this crucial time are very damaging to me, those close to me and my case.
'Please be sympathetic for the sake of those I love, if this were you, your sister/brother, your daughter/son, how would you really be feeling?'
It was last Friday when police caught Miss Palmer and her partner, known only as Vince, having sex on a beach popular with expats and holidaymakers.
The pair had met hours earlier at a champagne brunch at Le Meridien Hotel, where Miss Palmer got extremely drunk before setting off for a walk along the shore with her companion.
A police officer later spotted the pair having sex on the sand and let them off with a caution.
Businesswoman Michelle Palmer is facing up to six years in jail after she was caught having sex on Jumeirah Beach in Dubai
But the pair ignored the warning and they were arrested when the officer returned to the scene.
According to police sources, Miss Palmer launched an angry tirade at the officer upon being disturbed for a second time.
She is alleged to have hurled abuse and tried to hit him with her high-heeled shoe before being restrained and taken to a cell.
There she was charged with having sex outside marriage, indecent behaviour in public, being drunk in public and assaulting a police officer.
She faces a sentence of between three months and six years in jail in the state which is known for its strict stance on sex and drugs.
Authorities under growing pressure to curb the excesses of westerners plan to deport Miss Palmer at the end of her sentence. Her lover faces a similar term.
In the desperate hope of getting a lesser punishment, the pair considered marrying after they were granted bail this week, but had second thoughts.
It is not known when they will face court.
Miss Palmer said: 'We are in so much trouble and my family and everybody are affected. Until someone is in this situation they could never know what it's like. It's bad - it's so, so bad.
'They are being pushed into a corner to make an example of us. I'm panicking - my mum is on antidepressants.
'Because this is known everywhere they're going to make an example of us and we're going to get a higher sentence,' she told the Sun.
Friends and colleagues of Miss Palmer described her as a ' good-time girl who is always out to party'.
They said that most weekends, she could be seen downing cocktails and dancing in one of Dubai's lively nightclubs.
Dubai's Jumeirah Beach has become a popular spot for expats and holidaymakers
One former colleague said: 'She is always getting hammered at these brunches, then she goes out clubbing.
'Every Friday, she's out on the dancefloor - drunk, loud, raucous and completely out of control.
'People-come to Dubai because it has a 18-30 holiday vibe where young professionals enjoy casual sex and binge drinking in the sunshine and sales staff like her are the worst offenders.'
A friend of Miss Palmer, however, described her as a 'nice girl who's made a very big mistake'.
She said: 'God only knows how she must have felt when she sobered up.
'She went out with a group of friends and workmates to the champagne brunch party.
'The booze was flowing all day and she must have got carried away by the time she met Vince - a pal of one of her workmates.
'The jails out here have a terrible reputation and Michelle's praying they go easy on her.
'But they seem under pressure to make her an example. Having sex in public here is taken very seriously. And it's twice as serious if you're not married.'
A spokesman for ITP Publishing, which produces more than 60 magazines serving the Middle East's consumer, technology and business markets, said that Miss Palmer had been advised of the strict customs in the Muslim emirate upon joining the company.
'ITP, which employs some 600 staff representing over 20 nationalities in its Dubai-based operations, expects its staff to behave appropriately and properly in a manner consistent with the moral and cultural values of the society in which we all live and work.
'Following an internal review of this incident, the company has dismissed Miss Palmer.
'The whole thing is wholly regrettable.'
Source: Daily Mail UK, July 9, 2008 
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